Baybeats 2012 Special: The Trees And The Wild

The first time they performed in Singapore, they introduced themselves: "Hi we're The Trees and The Wild from Bekasi" and then charmed the socks off all of us. While Bekasi is still relatively unknown, these guys have been featured in TIME magazine, amassed a loyal fan base in their homeland, Singapore and even the Philippines, worked with Vincent Moon, and working hard on their second album. A stranger no more to Singapore, we catch up with The Trees and The Wild.

Hi Trees and The Wild, we’re excited to have you back again!

Hi! It's good to be back.

How does it feel like to be coming back to Singapore again?

It is such an honor to be playing here in Singapore again.

What have you been up to since we last saw you here?

We've been busy writing new songs and demo-ing them.

Do you all have full-time jobs or is the band the main focus right now?

Yes, the four of us have full time jobs, the only one that is still in school is our youngest member, Charita.

Tell us something about the new material and recording process. What are your influences for the new material?

Well I think the new songs are more intense than the previous one(s). Our Roots and Malino were our stepping stone for the new songs. Lyrically, the influence for the new material is from Pramoedya Ananta Toer. At that time I was so into his novels, the straightforwardness of his storytelling and philosophy is inspiring. And musically, we were listening to a lot of Suarasama.

How much of being Indonesian and growing up there influences your music?

We write music that is relevant to us. We live in a multicultural society (Jakarta is the melting pot) and melting those influences is a huge part in our music.

We noticed that Iga is not listed in the band anymore, what happened?

Yes, Iga is no longer a member of The Trees & The Wild. He decided to leave the band after the tour to support the last album.

So we’ve heard some of the new stuff at Up To The Sky and love it, will you be debuting any more new songs at Baybeats?

Glad you guys liked it! Yes, we going to try out several new songs.

We know that you’ve worked with Vincent Moon recently, how was that like?

We are fans of his work, so working with him was a surreal experience. He goes on to a trance state when he works and we can relate to that. And he improvises a lot (we had to walk through a football field during a match). He gave us two words which we'll always remember: "Don't think."

What do you like most about performing in Singapore?

The warm welcome and the amazing venues.

And finally, we’ve been asking the other bands but it’s your turn now: How are you preparing for Baybeats 2012?

We've been trying out a new set of songs that is different from our previous sets. So excited to play it!

Look out for The Trees And The Wild as they take on Day 02 of Baybeats: